


Long Time No See

by chelseyelric



Category: Johnny Bravo (Cartoon), Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Inspired by C2ndy2c1d's headcanon, M/M, Origin Story, Samurai Bravo - Freeform, Samuraibravo - Freeform, Tags May Change, accidental battle, blood mention, bounty hunter AU, in chapter 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-09-26 15:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9908453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseyelric/pseuds/chelseyelric
Summary: A fic based on the SamuraiBravo Bounty Hunter AU headcanoned by C2ndy2c1d.Full description inside.************CHAPTER 3 ADDED 4/5/17





	1. Long Time No See

**Author's Note:**

  * For [C2ndy2c1d](https://archiveofourown.org/users/C2ndy2c1d/gifts).



> Hey all! It's been a while since I wrote something for the boys. But seeing as how Samurai Jack is returning in a few weeks and c2ndy2c1d has come back after months of hard work, I thought it was the perfect time to polish up this fic I've had in the works for a while now. (I may continue this fic if inspiration strikes in the future. :3)
> 
> As a side note, the bounty of a googolplex (10 to the 100th power) worth of credits was mentioned in the Samurai Jack episode where he fights his evil self.
> 
> To quote c2ndy2c1d:
> 
> -Jack father’s is the head boss of a yakuza organization that deals with gambling, sokaiya (extortion from larger corporation), loan sharking, and making large investments to mainstream companies in stocks. Strictly forbids against drug/human trafficking.  
> -Johnny’s family are assassins, hired and good friends with Jack’s family. So Johnny and Jack would often play together in their childhood while their parents met up for business/pleasure.  
> -Aku soon took over with with his evilness, this forces Jack to runaway and train/avenge their family, while Johnny goes into hiding with his mother.  
> -15 years later into the future.  
> -Jack’s goal is to undo Aku’s rule/avenge his family. Currently is working with the mafia to get closer to Aku (based off the “Jack and the gangster” episode).  
> -Johnny is making a living with bounty hunting (still lives with his mother haha but father is gone unfortunately) and sees a bounty for Jack and tries to capture him until he realizes that it’s his childhood friend. 
> 
> Also, if you're interested:
> 
> Johnny and Jack outfit pics:  
> http://c2ndy2c1d.tumblr.com/post/143467143215/saw-these-two-pics-and-had-a-idea-of-a-au-where
> 
> Jack's tattoo:  
> http://c2ndy2c1d.tumblr.com/post/144317089370/some-more-stuff-of-the-au-where-johnny-and-jack
> 
> Now, please, sit back and enjoy!

Johnny glided his fingertip smoothly over his phone's screen, scrolling through the same series of photos for the third time. He was attempting to appear as though he weren't doing anything in particular, but in reality, he was patiently waiting. 

Waiting for his next, most lucrative hit to be lulled into a false sense of security.

He'd received numerous tips from several sources that the notorious rebel, only known as 'The Samurai', was living in the building across from where he was currently parked. A guy who fit his description: Asian, roughly 5' 10" and normally wearing a pinstripe suit with a sword on his hip, had entered the building not too long ago, but Johnny was biding his time, allowing the man to relax and let his guard down. 

"Why don't you try and take him out yourselves?" Johnny had asked a few. After all, The Samurai was trying to topple Aku (whom most of these low lives tried to serve to the best of their abilities) and was worth a googolplex of credits. It was more zeros than most beings could even fathom! The blond hated the idea of indirectly helping the evil overlord further his domination plot, but...his mama was counting on him to provide in place of his father and after this score, they'd be set for life.

"Are you kidding?"

"The guy's a one man army!" 

"Even Aku is afraid of him."

"What makes you think any of us could touch him?"

"I wouldn't even try if I was you."

'We'll see about that,' Johnny thought, pocketing his device, checking his hair in the rear view and exiting the car. The building he walked toward was just an unassuming brownstone apartment complex that looked like it'd been built sometime before the beginning of Aku's reign, which was becoming exceedingly rare nowadays with the overlord's reformation movement. He supposed that that would be one of the reasons The Samurai had chosen this place. 

Defiance.

As much as he tried not to, Johnny couldn't help but respect that.

He adjusted his dark, worn leather jacket and ascended the apartment staircase while reviewing everything he'd come to hear about his hit. The Samurai was supposed to be incredibly quick on his feet and skilled in many fighting styles, but none more so than with his katana. Very resourceful and, unfortunately, he would be on his own turf. It was going to be difficult, but there was no way that this guy would be as capable as the rumors said. Anyone who was anyone knew that rumors were the lawbreakers' first line of defense. Scare the lesser enemies who you didn’t want to fight. Even Johnny used the tactic sometimes. He repeated this reassurance to himself until he arrived at The Samurai's supposed hideout. 

Johnny casually reached out one large hand to try the doorknob. 

Locked. 

He loved when they were locked.

After fishing around in his deep pockets, shifting his phone and handful of credits aside, Johnny's fingers brushed against cold metal and he pulled out his weapons of choice. The two, custom-made brass knuckles he'd named 'Sassy' and 'Studly' gleamed in the cheap lighting of the hallway and made him smile as he slid them home onto his hands. 

The blond took a deep, calming breath, just as he'd been taught, and rolled some kinks out of his thick neck before stepping back, raising his foot and kicking the door open with a splintery crash. The mass of wood swung uselessly on its hinges, allowing Johnny to pass easily into the small, modestly furnished apartment. He brushed his jacket’s puffy shoulders free of dust and glanced quickly around the space.

“C’mon out, Samurai!” Johnny bellowed confidently. “I’m here to collect your bounty!”

Silence.

Fine.

Raising his fists, lowering his body and widening his legs into a solid boxing stance, Johnny worked his way inward, listening to and scanning his surroundings just like his daddy had taught him all those years ago.

The kitchen was clear.

The living room and all its furniture were clear.

The bedroom, beneath the bed and in the closet were all clear.

Aside from a few closets that were much too thin to hide anyone, the only place left to look was the bathroom.

“I know you're in there,” Johnny called, adrenaline running thick and heady in his veins at the prospect of a good fight. “C'mout with your hands up.”

Again, silence save for the spray of a shower for nearly a full minute.

Johnny could hear his pulse thudding in his ears as he reached for the knob. Surprisingly, this door was unlocked and swung open with little resistance. Johnny entered cautiously, eyeing the closed curtain of the shower. He inched forward in the steam filled room and yanked it back to see…

Nothing.

Johnny realized his rookie mistake too late when he was tackled to the tiled floor by The Samurai, who’d emerged from behind the door. The man soundly knocked the wind from him and banged Johnny’s head against the side of the tub with the entirety of his body weight. His ebony hair was wild and plastered wetly to his face but Johnny could register little else through his newly blurry vision and tinted glasses.

The Samurai scrambled off of him and into what looked to be the direction of the bedroom.

“...back here," the blond insisted weakly, rolling onto his hands and knees and climbing shakily to his feet. His vision focused somewhat as he forced himself to fill his protesting lungs with air.

The Samurai had returned, sporting only a sloppily tied towel around his waist while his hair fell wherever it chose. In contrast to the rest of him, the man’s red and green tattoo covered his shoulders in eye catching boldness. 

It seemed...oddly familiar. Maybe Johnny had brought one of his partners in or something.

“Leave this place,” The Samurai commanded in lightly accented English. He held a sheathed katana firmly at his side. “I do not wish to harm you.”

Johnny registered that if he wanted to leave, he could. The man had left just enough space through the hall to get to the doorway.

Noble of him.

“Appreciate it, but no can do, man. See, I need that massive stack of credits on your head.” Johnny cracked his knuckles and displayed his gleaming weapons. “We can get them for me the easy way or…”

He let his threat hang as he approached. His impressive build and near six inches over the guy did most of the talking but The Samurai stood his ground, unsheathing his wickedly sharp blade. 

This was going to get interesting.

Johnny charged down the hall with a yell and swung but The Samurai dodged the blow, making Johnny's fist sink deeply into the drywall near the front door. From there, everything seemed to move lightning quick. The Samurai swung his blade but Johnny managed to free his hand and duck just before contact.

While on the ground, he kicked out his leg to try and trip the man up but he jumped before Johnny could touch him. Unluckily for The Samurai, he had jumped a bit too high and too quick. The Samurai wheeled back unsteadily on a piece of the door when he landed, giving Johnny enough time to climb to his feet.

He blew some powder off of his knuckles and proceeded to swing his fists as fast and as hard as his muscles would allow. The man ducked and dodged the blows in an incredible show of skill, sometimes using the flat of his blade to deflect the hunks of metal before they could land. The resulting clangs rang out, grated on Johnny's ears until he surprised the man by slamming both of his fists together and catching the sword mid-swing between his armored knuckles.

“Could ya maybe stop that? My head is killing me since you slammed me in the bathroom.”

The Samurai gave a cunning smirk through his curtain of inky black hair, pushing all of his weight into the sword. 

"My apologies," he said sarcastically and suddenly released his grip, stepping aside and leaving his katana with Johnny. Johnny tumbled forward unsteadily, straight into the man’s rising knee, the bone connecting soundly with his solar plexus. The blow could very well have incapacitated him had he not seen it coming, but since Johnny had managed to tighten his core in time, it would only leave him with a nasty bruise.

He didn't let The Samurai know that, however, and played up his injury. Johnny coughed and gagged and allowed spittle to fly from his mouth into the carpet below. The man approached swiftly to retrieve his sword and that's when Johnny threw himself into his chest, wrapping one anaconda-like arm around The Samurai's middle and pinning his arms.

With his free hand, Johnny began punching at the man's nearest arm and ribs. He even managed to land one in the jaw, causing him to shout and squirm beneath him.

“Just. Give. Up!” Johnny grunted. He drew his fist back again and used his thumb to release the spring loaded knife imbedded in his brass knuckle.

This was it. He could finish it.

But...something still seemed off. 

With each punch, The Samurai’s hair had parted, his almond eyes had become more apparent and that feeling of familiarity had nagged harder at the back of Johnny’s mind. 

Why?

He was certain that he had no idea who this pretty boy was. The only person he'd known who had even looked close to this guy had been-

Wait. This guy couldn't be...

It all seemed to click at the same time a look of ‘I've tried everything but a headbutt’ came over the Samurai's face. 

"Jack?" Johnny asked incredulously before getting a nose full of forehead and finally releasing his grip on the smaller man. He groaned as his eyes began to water, Johnny’s hands flying to his nose to try and ease the blinding pain.

He hoped it wasn't broken but he knew that being a bounty hunter could have that kind of occupational hazard. Johnny pulled a hand away and found it incredibly bloody, but the bone didn't seem to shift at all when he applied pressure.

Gazing down at the man who he now recognized as his childhood friend, Johnny tried again. "Jack, it's me. Johnny. Remember? We grew up together.”

Jack glared at him uncertainly through watering eyes, holding his reddened forehead. Johnny managed to climb unsteadily to his feet and outstretched his clean hand in offering. Jack flinched hard, obviously uncertain as to whether or not this was some sort of trick. But when he saw the open joy on the blond's bleeding face, he tentatively accepted the gesture.

Johnny lead him to the couch before plopping into a nearby chair, using his shirt to blot the blood from his nose that had slowed but still hadn't stopped.

"I knew it was you when I saw you.” Jack admitted after a while. “With your hairstyle and glasses, it was obvious." He leant back with a smile. “You still look the same.”

“In my defense, you sure didn't with all your hair in your face. Why didn't you say anything?” Johnny asked feeling more than a little guilty and embarrassed.

Jack made to shrug but winced from his injuries. “I assumed you knew and simply cared more about the credits then a friend from...how long has it been? Fifteen years, I believe.”

Johnny leaned forward, looking distressed. “Of course I wouldn't have attacked you if I'd known! I don't care how long it's been, you and I were practically family.” He glanced around. “Sorry about your place, by the way.”

Jack seemed to mull that over for a moment before noticeably relaxing. "It is alright. How are your parents?"

“Mama's fine,” Johnny said leaning his head back. “Daddy's been gone a long time and credits are hard to come by. One of the reasons I'm a bounty hunter, now, rather than an assassin. Quicker credits for less effort.”

Jack's eyes went steely and cold. “I am sorry about your father, Johnny. I have made it my duty to make Aku pay for what he did to my family.” He looked up. “To my friends.”

“Yeah, I heard about your vendetta against him since what happened to your parents. Is that where you've been all these years?”

“I've been training, yes. In many forms and arts and fighting styles. And now that I am ready, I must find the perfect moment to strike.”

A long pause formed between them. 

"Aren't you a little pretty to be doing this kind of thing?" 

The comment sent Jack into a fit of laughter, then had him groaning from his bruising ribs. “Please, do not make me laugh, Johnny. It is painful.”

Johnny could feel his cheeks heating in embarrassment. “What’s so funny?”

Jack grinned wide. "The funny thing is that you're not the first person to say that to me."

He held his sides as he went into another fit and, before they knew it, Johnny was laughing, too. Even with their injuries, it felt good to really laugh. Neither could remember the last time they’d actually enjoyed themselves. It was so surreal, just like a moment from their childhood.

Johnny wiped a tear from behind his glasses, the metal of his brass knuckles clinking against their plastic frames. “Who are you affiliated with now?”

Jack sobered along with Johnny. “The Mafia, mostly. Though I do work with others from time to time.”

Johnny let out a low whistle. “Impressive. Those guys are no joke.”

“They have been very kind to me over these past few years. Giving me information, finding me work and keeping me in top form. But I don't feel as if they will be able to help me much in the end. It will have to be me alone who faces Aku.”

“And me.”

Jack's dark eyes flew up. “What?”

Johnny shrugged. “And me, obviously. I can't let my old bestie get his ass handed to him by the evilest evil there is.”

Jack gave Johnny yet another strange look.

“It certainly won't be easy.”

“I know.”

“If you are serious, Johnny,” he said, jaw beginning to bruise and swell from Johnny's earlier punch. The blond’s stomach sank at the sight. “I'd greatly appreciate your assistance.”

Johnny’s sadness was quickly dispelled and he smiled wide, showing a bit of blood that had dripped onto his upper lip. A smile that, to Jack, time hadn't seemed to touch.


	2. When Times Were Simpler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A childhood memory resurfaces in the form of a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Just writing an extra little chapter due to popular demand. Special thanks to Austin Trench for commenting and giving me the idea. 
> 
> Pic reference from C2ndy2c1d: http://c2ndy2c1d.tumblr.com/post/144317089370/some-more-stuff-of-the-au-where-johnny-and-jack
> 
> Enjoy!

Johnny pulled the sucker out of his mouth with a sigh. His paper just wouldn't stop crumpling under his crayon.

"These aren't writin' too good in the grass, Jack. Should we, maybe, find some rocks?"

"I do not see why," Jack chirped, giggling as his marker colored his skin in swirling patterns. A trail of random shapes and doodles ran from his legs all the way up to his neck. "Why do you not simply write on yourself as I do?"

Johnny adjusted his sunglasses and tried to fix his picture but, in doing so, just barely avoided touching his sucker to the ground. "Nah. Mama and Daddy would get mad ‘cause I’d need a bath after. But I like watching you do it. You're good!"

Jack smiled wide and Johnny couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you, Johnny. Look! I copied your flower!"

The blond saw a small, green duplicate of his picture up toward the top of Jack's chest. Most kids in town got angry when Jack copied their dances or games or drawings, but it made Johnny feel special. Like he was good enough to be copied by someone so much better at most things than he was. "That’s awesome! Now that we both did flowers, I think I'm gonna draw a sun to go with them."

Johnny set to work finding the yellow crayon in the box and stuck his candy back into his mouth for safe keeping. He tried writing a bit more gentle and, even though the colors weren’t showing up as bright, the paper seemed to hold well enough. 

"Oh!" Jack suddenly blurted and twisted this way and that.

"Wa' 'a you 'ookin fo'?" Johnny asked with his mouth full.

"This one." Jack said brandishing the black marker like a sword. Jack uncapped it and set to work, poking the pink tip of his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in concentrated thought. Johnny returned to his happy sun.

The wind softly blew around them, whistling through the surrounding trees and carrying with it the laughter of nearby children and the savory smell of someone’s barbecue. 

Summer days like these, the ones where Spring and Fall both felt far away, were Johnny’s favorite.

"Done!" Jack said once Johnny was two suns and half a sky into his picture. "You will know this one, Johnny. Look."

Johnny glanced over just as Jack was touching up an edge on his doodle. It looked like the same square symbol he wore all the time on his shirt and the symbol all over his house.

Johnny pulled his sucker out again. “Why'd you draw that?” he asked, genuinely curious. 

“Because it’s important,” Jack replied simply.

“Important how?”

Jack set the marker on the grass near Johnny’s sneaker. “Father tries to tell me about it sometimes. He says it means a lot of things at once. Our past. Our ancestors and Japan. Our duty to protect weaker people with our strength and influence. It means what my family hopes I’ll become when I grow up. It means Mother and Father and me and all of our friends. So, that way, it also means you, Johnny.”

That surprised him. Johnny had never been a part of something important before. He’d had the feeling of being important because he was so great, but no one had ever actually told him so.

“You really think I’m important, Jack?”

Another wide smile. “Of course I do, Johnny. You’re my best friend. You’ll be important to me forever!”

Johnny’s vision swam behind his tinted glasses and he had to wipe at his eyes. It must have been some dust in the wind. He definitely wasn’t crying because no one cries when they aren’t sad and also because his Daddy told him big boys don’t cry. He was just happy. 

Happy to be sitting here with his favorite person.

“I wish...I could keep that symbol...with me,” Johnny confessed.

“What was that, Johnny?” A much deeper voice asked.

Johnny opened his eyes as quickly as his tired lids would allow, sleep heavy at their edges. Luckily his glasses blocked out most of the light filtering in from between the closed panels of the blinds. “What?”

Jack smiled shaking his head. “I said it was nearly time for us to check out and you replied with something I didn't understand.” He looked surprised as Johnny rubbed at his eyes behind his glasses. “Were you crying?”

A sniffle. “I must have been, but...I can't remember why.”

Another soft smile. “You will remember if it is important. Do not worry.”

Jack gently griped his shoulder. “Rest a bit longer, Johnny. We still have an hour before we are required to check out.”

Those honied words were so persuasive, settling Johnny’s worry and need to recall. Calming his mind. Jack stood from his seat on the edge of Johnny’s bed and headed toward the closet to find something suitable to wear for the day.

Johnny stared after the broad shoulders of his childhood friend, painted for all to see in the symbol and colors of his family. He felt like...it was important somhow.

But sleep was a bit too tempting at the moment, so he rolled over, surrendering to a bit more of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I keep this here? Let me know what you think. :3


	3. Time's Runnin Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming back from a bounty mission, Jack is shot and Johnny is at a loss as to what to do to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Trigger warnings: descriptions of blood and medical treatment. If you are uncomfortable with either of these, please do not read.)
> 
> Based on C2ndy2c1d's picture here: http://c2ndy2c1d.tumblr.com/post/144731875710/did-some-patreon-requests-on-the-au-where
> 
> I will most likely be posting a follow up chapter to this one in the near future. ;3
> 
> Enjoy!

Johnny finally slammed the door to their shared hotel room open and didn't care how much noise he made in the process or how it sounded when he stumbled inside. He placed a badly bleeding Jack on the cheap carpet and pressed a discarded piece of laundry with as much strength as he dared on the entry and exit points of the gaping wound in Jack's side.

His friend was dying.

Johnny had no idea what had happened. One minute they were both laughing, Jack riding on Johnny’s back as they came back from turning over another easy bounty. The next, a gunshot rang out and Jack was on the ground, bleeding and struggling to stay conscious. 

Johnny had tried to take out the three attackers alone and had managed to incapacitate two robots before picking up one of their dropped guns. He had trained the weapon on the only organic assailant, feeling his years of training take hold in place of conscious decision making. He was close to ending the being, his finger itching to pull the trigger and make him suffer as much his friend was suffering at his side, but he was better than that. He and Jack had a mutual understanding that they only took someone’s life if it was absolutely necessary and this being was shaking. Had dropped their weapon. Was surrendering. Johnny had simply shot at their feet and they had fled in terror.

Johnny came back to himself, then, and saw that Jack's condition was steadily worsening. Johnny’s ears rang uncomfortably at the sound of Jack’s quick, shallow breaths, his mouth feeling dry and bitter at his feeling of intense hopelessness. Everything seemed to blur as tears pricked at the corners of his vision. 

He had no medical training. At least, nothing past how to correct a dislocated shoulder due to high-level kickback from a powerful gun. He was used to killing as an ex-assassin. Used to seeing death and blood, but not saving someone. 

This couldn't happen. Not to his Jack.

Johnny tried to think of something, anything he could do when the sound of a familiar ringtone filled the tense atmosphere. 

His mama!

He fished the phone from his pocket with some difficulty, slippery red hindering his touch on the device’s once pristine plastic and glass. Johnny somehow managed to answer the call and activate speaker mode. 

“-nny, baby! How is my precious boy doing?”

Her cheerful voice, that warm, loving tone, caused Johnny to finally give in to his stress and fear. His broad shoulders shook as he sobbed.

“Mama. I n-need your help.”

“What is it, baby? Are you okay?”

“Jack’s hurt bad, mama. He was shot. There's...he's bleeding everywhere and...I don't…I can't lose him. I never told him-”

“Johnny, baby, mama needs you to calm down,” Bunny soothed in a soft but urgent tone. “I need you to tell me some things.” 

She began firing questions and commands in rapid succession. Are you applying pressure? Is he still conscious? How many times and where was he shot. Is blood coming from his mouth? Is it coming in spurts or a trickle? Are you near a hospital? Are you somewhere safe with a first aid kit? Do you have needle and thread? As well as a few others.

“Okay, just do what mama tells you, baby, and Jack should be okay.”

Johnny took an unsteady breath. “Okay.”

The next 30 minutes was a blur of his mother’s calming voice in his ear and his hands moving almost on their own. Raise his legs above his heart. Clean this. Sew that. How is his breathing? Turn him on his side. Instruction after instruction as Johnny felt Jack grow colder and more pallid with each passing second. He was doing his best to clean and suture the wounds but it was difficult with shaking, bloody hands and even more difficult to tell if what he was doing was having any effect.

Somewhere along the way, Johnny just knocked his glasses off and stopped wiping his eyes, working and blinking through the tears as best he could. Johnny swore to himself that should Jack come out on the other side of this that he would learn as much about life saving first aid as he could so nothing like this would happen to anyone he loved ever again.

“That should do it. Is he still breathing, baby?”

“Yes, mama.”

“And the bandages? Is there still any bleeding?”

“They're clean. It stopped.”

“My brave boy. You did so well.”

Her words pressed warmly against his heart and he sobbed. Jack would be okay if he survived this much.

“Thank you, mama.”

“Now wrap him in warm blankets, Johnny. And have liquids ready when he wakes up. Let me know how he's doing in an hour, okay?”

“Yes, mama.”

“And you rest, baby. Mama loves you.”

“I love you too, mama.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that was a bit angsty, but don't worry. The next chapter will be much lighter, I promise!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought and if you think I should change any tags/ratings/descriptions etc.

**Author's Note:**

> So, how was it? Did you love it? Hate it? Do you think I need to add/change any tags? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know! :D


End file.
